the animals back along their tracks. They looked and searched every step of the trail along which they
had come but found no sign of a Keeer-plunk. In fact, they found nothing unusual at all.
When they got to the sparkling blue lake where the little white fluffy rabbit had been quietly
drinking before the Keeer-plunk had scared him into running so fearfully, everything was still and
quiet. The monkey, the deer, the hippopotamus, the giraffe, the rhinoceros, the elephant, and the
lion all gazed around but there was no sign of any Keeer-plunk. Then, just as they were about to
leave, a stone rolled down a cliff on the other side of the lake. It bounced out in the air, falling into
the lake with a loud Keeer-plunk.
“There it is!” the little white fluffy rabbit shouted out, gathering his back legs under him, ready
to run again.
“Wait,” called the lion amidst a roar of laughter. The little white fluffy rabbit felt embarrassed
when he learned what had caused the Keeer-plunk. The other animals felt ashamed that they had just
believed what they had been told and not checked it out for themselves.
The kindly lion, however, sat on a rock near the water’s edge and explained there was no need
to be ashamed. “Fear,” he began, “is something all animals and people experience for a very good
reason. Look at the little white fluffy rabbit, for example. It doesn’t have many ways of protecting it-
self from some of the big, dangerous creatures that might want to hurt it, or even eat it. Little rabbits
do not have sharp teeth or long claws or big bodies. So, if the Keeer-plunk had existed it might have
been dangerous, and it was wise of the little white fluffy rabbit to run and warn others. But some-
times,” continued the lion, “we get frightened by things we imagine, things we do not need to fear,
or things that do not even exist. We need to learn to tell what we really need to be scared of and what
we do not. If we find ourselves hearing a Keeer-plunk like the little white fluffy rabbit, it might be
helpful to stop and ask, ‘Is this something I need to be afraid of?’ If it is, then it is important to pro-
tect yourself. If not, there is no need to fear.”
The little white fluffy rabbit learned to quietly sip water from the sparkling blue lake even when
there was an occasional Keeer-plunk. In fact, the Keeer-plunk brought a smile to his little white fluffy
rabbit’s mouth because it reminded him of something important he had learned.
STORY 24
LEARNING TO THINK FOR YOURSELFTherapeutic Characteristics
Problems Addressed
■ Dependency issues
■ Failure to think for yourself
■ Set patterns of thinking and doing
■ Being put downResources Developed
■ Developing creativity
■ Seeking your own solutions88 Healing Stories, Teaching Stories